According to the Ericsson Mobility report June 2026, more than 1.1 billion 5G subscriptions are expected in India by the end of 2031, reaching 81 per cent subscription penetration. 5G adoption in India continues to grow rapidly, driven by the availability of affordable 5G-enabled smartphones and devices, expanded network coverage across almost all districts, and the increasing rollout of 5G fixed wireless access (FWA) services.
The June 2026 report covers the same period (2025-2031) as the November 2025 edition, with updated statistics and forecasts.
As per the report, 5G subscriptions reached 430 million at the end of 2025, accounting for 35 per cent of total mobile subscriptions. While 4G remains the dominant technology at 46 per cent, subscriptions are forecast to decline from around 570 million in 2025 to nearly 160 million by 2031, as users migrate to 5G.
The country also continues to lead globally in mobile data consumption per smartphone, with average monthly usage already at 37 GB and expected to nearly double to 70 GB by 2031.
Commenting on the report, managing director, Ericsson India, said, “India’s rapidly growing 5G adoption based on enhanced mobile broadband and 5G FWA is transforming consumer experiences. The robust and secure 5G infrastructure in the country is driving inclusion, governance, and innovation at scale and is serving as a powerful foundation for Digital India.”
The report also mentioned that global 5G mobile subscriptions passed the three billion mark during the first quarter of 2026; 5G Standalone (SA) network slicing commercial offerings from communications service providers continue to grow significantly; while uplink mobile data traffic growth is already outpacing downlink for many service providers.
The 162 million new 5G subscriptions added globally during the first quarter of 2026 brought the total past the three billion mark, to 3.1 billion subscriptions. This figure is expected to grow rapidly and is forecast to more than double (to 6.4 billion) by the end of 2031.
Some 390 service providers have launched commercial 5G services to date – more than 90 of which have launched 5G Standalone (SA). 5G networks handled 48 per cent of all mobile data traffic at the end of 2025 – a figure expected to rise to 85 per cent by the end of 2031. Western Europe, North America, North East Asia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries are forecast to have 5G mobile subscription adoption close to, or above, 90 per cent by the end of 2031.
The number of commercial differentiated connectivity service offerings based on 5G SA network slicing from service providers – with the ability to deliver guaranteed quality of service for use cases through securing slices of the network – continues to grow at pace. The total increased from 65 in the November 2025 EMR report to 84 across all regions in the new June edition – indicating that services based on differentiated connectivity are moving from early adoption to mainstream commercialisation.
Meanwhile, EMR publisher and chief technology officer (CTO), Ericsson, said, “With the upcoming transition to physical AI, traffic patterns will fundamentally shift as we move from centralised models in data centres to distributed, autonomous AI agents embedded across our device vehicles and cities, commonly connected by 5G. Mobile networks are no longer only about providing best-effort connectivity, they are becoming critical, intelligent infrastructure that meets diverse application needs. Reflecting part of this shift is the continued rise in new commercial service offerings based on 5G standalone network slicing and the number of communications service providers deploying 5G SA.”
Speed-based tariff plans for FWA also continue to appeal to service providers as a structured monetisation strategy targeting different market segments. The share of FWA service providers offering the service over 5G has reached 71 per cent – up from 57 per cent in June 2025 – the largest annual increase in four years. Speed-based tariff plans are now offered by 57 per cent of FWA service providers – up from 51 per cent a year ago.
The diverse momentum is reflected in new 5G FWA launches in Algeria, Argentina, Bangladesh, Morocco, Taiwan, Türkiye and Vietnam.
5G FWA connections uptake is strongest in North America, the Nordics, the GCC countries and parts of Asia.
Furthermore, uplink traffic is growing faster than downlink for most service providers – in some instances, significantly faster. The main current drivers are smartphone communication and collaboration apps, the sharing of user-generated content, and cloud storage.
Based on network traffic measurements conducted by Ericsson 43 out of 55 service providers experienced a higher uplink growth rate than downlink; 17 out of 55 service providers experienced more than 1.5 times higher uplink growth rate than downlink. Ericsson scenario modelling suggests additional AI traffic could result in uplink traffic being three times higher or more in 2031 compared to 2025.
Network data traffic (for both mobile and FWA) grew 22 per cent year-on-year for the first quarter of 2026 compared to the same period in 2025 – exceeding expectations. This was driven mainly by continued strong growth in India and North America
The report also reflected the increasing industry focus on 6G – with standardisation discussions underway. Early expectations include full support for integrated sensing and communication (ISAC); seamless integration between terrestrial and satellite networks to reduce coverage gaps; and a strong focus on energy efficiency – all driven by AI-native 6G.
The first implementable 6G specifications are expected to be finalised by the end of 2028 or early 2029. The first commercial 6G services are expected to follow around 2030, with varying subsequent uptake between regions and countries. As with 5G launches, the US, China, Japan, South Korea and the GCC countries are expected to be early adopters.
